Teenagers Autonomy

As we age, our lives are divided into stages with inescapable hardships. The most difficult of these stages has proven to be adolescence and young adulthood, the years in which our personalities are defined. This juncture is the pinnacle of maturation, however, it is gradually becoming a plateau wherein inactivity is most prevalent. It is indisputable that American children and young adults alike are lingering in their youth for far too long. Many in their teens and twenties are holding tight to the freedom of childhood by depending on their parents, refusing to settle down, and avoiding responsibility. Through their lack of independence, inability to commit and their indolence, certain action must be taken against adolescents

For example, in Romeo and Juliet, Juliet’s parents wanted her to marry Paris because he has royal blood, has a lot of money and would have been good for their whole family. However, that is not what she wanted to do. She said that “It is an honor that I dream not of.”(I iii l 72). If Juliet had listened to her parents and married Paris, it may have been the best thing for their family but it would not have made her happy. Teenagers should do what makes them happy and parents shouldn’t interfere too much with that. Also, sometimes kids just don’t want to date like Juliet did not want to get married. If the parents have their kid date someone and they don’t want to date at all, then the kid would not be happy as well. There are a lot of ways that parents could control their kids’ decisions and that never works out well for the

A college freshman walks into her dorm room and collapses onto the bottom bunk. One would assume that since it is her first week being on campus she is tired and overwhelmed from all of the freshman activities, but in reality it is her parents who are exhausting her. Her parents got a hotel room for move in day, and they haven’t left her alone since. Multiple research sources suggest that levels of parental involvement have been rising over the past decade, and according to Cline and Fay (1990) this high level of parental involvement is now commonly known as “helicopter parenting” (qtd. in Weinstein). These helicopter parents have definitely “grabbed the attention of scholars, media, and academic institutions” (Odenweller, Booth-Butterfield,

For centuries, teenagers have fought with their parents over the amount of freedom they should have. Parents always fight to reel in their child’s freedom, while teens argue that they need more privileges. While parents certainly have an argument in protecting their kids from the big, scary world, ultimately teenagers need to be exposed to the dangers of everyday life in order to prepare them for entering it on their own. If they have no real-life experience, they cannot be expected to handle it well when they leave their parents’ houses. In order to teach kids responsibility and life skills, kids should be allowed freedom to work and be out on their own, but have certain restrictions on a case-to-case basis in terms of curfews and household obligations.

Teenagers are often seen in society as careless and dangerous in the U.S. society. With many articles on adolescence, this thought stays true. Although, in a basic psychology book the author contradicts this thought. The author of a basic psychology book merely states that peers often coincide with parents on encouraging teens to do well. So, what’s the truth? The best way to answer this is to analyze articles that have strong support for their opinion on adolescence. An article by the name of “Why Teen-Agers Are the Worst” by Elizabeth Kolbert explores the possibilities on why teenagers may be dangerous. Kolbert’s thesis is “At moments of extreme exasperation, parents may think that there’s something wrong with their teen-agers’ brains. Which, according to recent books on adolescence,

Lacking in such skills as a student, or adult for that matter, can cause serious issues, “the number of students in crisis coming in for help has increased sharply—from 647 in the 2014–2015 academic year to 906 [in the 2015-2016 school year]. And the number of students needing medical transports for psychiatric evaluation has also risen, from 120 in the 2014–2015 academic year to 134 last year” (Brown). These incidents are most likely caused by none other than over-parenting. With a student’s parent unable to assist the now incapable problem solver, the child, unfit for such stress and analytical processing, simply cannot handle what is expected of them and essentially breaks down. Similarly, “teens [with hovering parents] might be more likely to participate in sexual activities, drinking or drug abuse. Teens often test the boundaries of their overprotective parents because these children have likely not developed a sense of responsibility for their actions” (Hewitt). Almost on the other end of the spectrum, these are people who have never done anything individual and feel the need to test the waters. However, these teens, unlike the college students, do not break down when not in the presence of their parents, they go wild. With their newly found freedom they are expected to do irresponsible things, and due to their parents taking the liability for everything previously, be bewildered at the overwhelming penalties they have to uphold. These teens may not have crumpled without their parents, but without any knowledge of punishment, they would crumble under the justice system. In both of these cases over-parenting has proved to be the factor that causes the downfall of the child. The parents’ overactivity, the thing they saw as protecting their child, is now destroying

For those of us that are parents, we know that raising a child to adulthood is not an easy task but one which we do lovingly (hopefully) and responsibly. I’ll go out on a limb to say here that everyone agrees that the teenage years are the most challenging. The general consensus is that teenagers are unruly, aggressive, careless, spoiled and dependent on technology. On the other hand, I believe along with a small group of other parents that teenagers are also brilliant and in the process of becoming and reaching their potential and that they deserve much more respect than what they are given.

“Having a parent continue to be in a frequent presence is one of the best ways to ensure young adolescents don’t make too many big mistakes,” states the concerned mother. However, constantly protecting her child,results in them never learning to deal with the consequences. Ubiquitous parents disable their children from learning to resolve conflicts or learn from mistakes. The article states, “Many young adults entering college have the academic skills... but are lacking in life skills like ...conflict resolution.” My parents now let me solve my own issues, allowing me to learn from them. For example, I used to procrastinate on assignments. This resulted in me getting very stressed out and exhausted from staying up late. I learned to not start assignments last minute. If my parents intruded on my decisions I may have never learned not to start last minute and the consequences of doing so. More importantly, if parents refrained from hovering over their children they allow them to learn to assess their mistakes and

The article “Inside the Teen Brain” by Marty Woltner, states that recent information on the human brain gives new information to parents and explains the behavior of teens. Even though the brain is almost physically mature the grey matter in the thinking part of the brain( Pre-Frontal Cortex).Without benefit of higher level processing in the prefrontal cortex may result in risky behavior. Each interaction with a teenager will affect development of his or her brain, helping the teen make connections in the prefrontal cortex. During this time of heavy construction. As parents decide how to more efficiently communicate with the developing teen brain, it’s vital to also consider who a child actually is, and what kind of parenting styles the child

Freedom demands peace, justice and unity. Freedom steps in when the going gets rough. It is more than enjoying adulthood as you turn 18, it's the definition of a child taking its first steps towards life.

One issue Americans must focus on is the lack of parental guidance in households. Some parents tend to allow their teens to raise themselves without any set rules; thus, giving teens too much independence before they are ready. Parents must be available and involved in every aspect of their kids’ lives. They should know their daily activities, where they are, and with whom they are hanging around. Parents are children’s role models and they have a duty to establish guidelines and standards to protect their child.

Teen parents often find that caring for a child makes it difficult for them to continue their schooling.Teen parents are also more likely to subject their children to abuse and neglect because they feel overwhelmed by their unfamiliar, ever-demanding roles as parents.Children born to teen parents earn lower standardized test scores and are more likely to drop out of high school.Becoming a teen parent also seems to have long-term implications for

Freedom…it’s a word we’ve heard so often, yet probably never understood. We hear it in songs full of hope and spirit, discussing the thrill of being alive and happy. What would life be like without the concept of freedom? Nations across the world struggle without it; dictators and communists dominate their nations, leaving their people starved and desperate. The United States has been blessed to avoid these issues, and life flourishes; people are able to be whoever they want and do or think whatever they feel. This, obviously, can cause some problems- with freedom comes responsibility. This can be challenging for some people, especially young adults. There is a fine balance between independence and irresponsibility, and it is crucial

“The truth is that adolescents, despite occasional or numerous protests, need adults and want them to be part of their lives, recognizing that they can nurture, teach, guide, and protect them on the journey to adulthood (Association, 2002)”.

But as soon as children start feeling that their parents care too much, they try to get back at them and do just what their parents don't want them to do. On the other hand kids who face lack of freedom may end up turning into introverts afraid to speak to other people or not as social (which is not a bad thing though).